Freezing Together
by E. Limberg
Summary: While Mac and Stella are in the AV lab, the power goes out in the middle of a blizzard, leaving them trapped inside as the temperature slowly drops.  Can they get out before they freeze to death?  MS later.  Minor spoilers.
1. Friday, 10 PM

**Freezing Together**

**Chapter 1: Friday, 10 PM**

"How'd I get stuck watching surveillance videos?" a very bored and half asleep Stella Bonasera grumbles, popping a third tape in to look at. So far she had found no trace of the robbers on the two previous tapes and was about to give up. There is still plenty of processing left to do, and she doesn't understand why she can't be helping Mac and Danny with that while some low life lab tech searches the tapes. "It's not fair."

Her cell phone rings, and she answers it, frustration obvious in her voice. "What do you need, Mac?"

"Find anything yet?"

"No."

"I'll be in as soon as we finish packing this stuff up. Is there anything I can get you, Stel?"

"A bottle of water and an orange or whatever's in the fridge. You guys finished already?"

"No, it's late, way past end of shift. It's deserted out here. Thought we'd save the rest of this until Monday; no one's here to process DNA and stuff anyway. Once we finish whatever tape you're on now, we'll lock up for the weekend," he explains.

"See you in a few," she hangs up and pushes the play button to continue the video.

Five minutes later, Mac enters with two bottles of water, an apple, an orange, a banana, and some napkins. "Roads look terrible; snow's still coming down. Hopefully it'll be clearer when we come back Monday morning."

"Any idea what the temperature is now?"

"Below zero, last time I checked. So what've you got?"

"Absolutely nothing unusual," Stella starts to peel the orange. "I doubt there's anything on this one."

They sit in silence, watching the screen while munching quietly on their snacks. Halfway through the tape, a masked figure goes across the screen. She rewinds it and plays the part again in slow motion. "No way to ID him."

"Or her," he adds.

"Let's continue." The screen moves in regular speed again after she marks the spot. "There he is again," she points, marking this point as well.

With no warning, darkness overcomes the lab, the power having gone out. "You alright?" he asks, placing a hand on her arm.

"Yeah."

Mac gets up, heading towards the door. The knob won't turn. "Have to wait until the backup generator kicks in." Within the next two minutes, the lights come back on, though dimmer to conserve power. Again he tries the doorknob; it still won't turn.

"Damn new security system," Stella curses. Since being held hostage for drugs and redoing the lab, they had installed a new system using fingerprints. In order to enter a room, you had to scan your fingerprint in. Apparently the generator didn't produce enough power to run the security system, meaning they were stuck in there until the power comes back on. Unless… "Do you have your keys?"

"No, they're on my desk," he says gloomily.

"Then we're stuck in here."

"Maybe Danny can come back and get my keys off my desk."

"He can't get in your office without the system working."

"Then maybe Gerard could come."

"Mac, he hates us. But then… it's an emergency so… let's call him." Both pull out their cell phones. "Oh wait, I don't have his number in here."

Mac dials the number but gets nothing. "Out of service."

"Try mine." He does and gets the same results.

"We're trapped. We could be here until Monday without anyone knowing it."

"No food, no water, no bathroom. What'll we do?" Stella tries not to panic. "Of all places to get stuck, it just had to be in the AV lab with no windows."

"We might not have to worry about all that."

"What do you mean?"

"The temperature will drop in here with the generator not able to power the heater. It'll be as cold in here as it is outside. We could freeze to death before we're found."

**A/N: I'll post the next chapter Wednesday, then the third Friday. After that you'll have to wait until I get back on the tenth so I can put up a couple more chapters, then I leave again the fifteenth for about a week. It'll probably be the middle of August before this whole story is posted; it's twenty chapters long. I can't remember where I came up with this idea. But I really wish I could be stuck in there with them right now since it gets so cold and I'm like dying here. My mom finally turned the air conditioning on though. I have band tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have one of my friends there. I need to go write or read or something. I've started another post All Access story. And I started the sixth Harry Potter book; man, I don't remember any of it ever happening. Can some one tell me who the half-blood prince is? Don't worry, I made my mom go to the bookstore at midnight when it came out and had it read in like less than two days; you can tell me. I was going to start summer reading, but after reading the first chapter of Huckleberry Finn, I was confused. First, he isn't talking in proper English, and it's driving me insane. Then he goes on about how at the end of some other book he and Tom where doing something. The other book doesn't look good either. Anyway... please tell me what you think so far.**


	2. Saturday, 1 AM

**Chapter 2: Saturday, 1 AM**

Mac stares at the ceiling, amused by the fact that, of all the people to be trapped together in the lab, it was him and Stella stuck here now. Something beside him moves, and he turns his gaze to it, finding it is only Stella shifting in her sleep. The lab coat blanket falls off her, and he tries to put it back over her without waking her. As he tucks it around her shoulders in an attempt to get it to stay on her, he wakes her. "Go back to sleep; nothing's happened."

"What're you doing?" she mumbles, stretching from her uncomfortable position in the chair, knocking the lab coat off again.

"I was putting your blanket back on you," he picks it up again and gives it to her. "You keep warm under that while I look around and see what else we have in here."

"Let me help you," Stella stands, going to the counter opposite where he is looking.

"Hey, you were wrong about the no water part; I forgot there's a sink in here."

"If you want to drink New York tap water, go ahead. But that thing has no filter; I refuse to drink from it. Besides, the temperature could freeze the pipes in the building."

"Well, we've got a drain, meaning a bathroom, somewhat."

"You might be able to use the sink as a bathroom, Mac, but I can't. Plus there's no toilet paper," she makes a disgusted face at him.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind once you have to go."

"Did we run out of storage space elsewhere?" she walks over to him, a couple blankets in hand. "Why do we have blankets in the lab anyway?"

Mac shrugs, puzzled, yet grateful to whoever put them there. "Emergencies?"

"Once it gets to zero, these'll have little effect but we can use them now."

"Let's keep looking." They search the whole room for fifteen more minutes and find nothing else of use to them. "Why don't you go back to sleep while I stand guard?"

"Like anyone's going to try to hurt us in this blizzard. No one even knows we're in here."

"Never know. Maybe someone turned the power off in our building, intentionally trapping us in here. Get some rest, Stel," he puts a blanket over her.

"This is worse than when we were held hostage for the cocaine," she searches for the right position in her chair for sleeping. "I never realized how uncomfortable these chairs are."

"When we get out of here, we'll sue the security company and become millionaires and retire."

"I'm only thirty-seven, Mac. It's too early to retire."

"Ever think about starting a family?"

"You mean having kids?"

"Sure."

"Not recently," Stella says. "Not since twenty months ago before… he… you know."

"You haven't started dating again?" Mac asks curiously.

"Not a single date. Many guys have asked but… I'm still waiting for the right one. After what happened, I'm not sure I believe in true love anymore."

"You'll find him," he assures.

"I think I already have, but he just doesn't seem to feel the same way."

"To miss you, he's got to have some emotional problems."

She laughs, "Trust me, he does."

"I'm sure he'll come to his senses someday," Mac realizes she is talking about him.

"What about you and Claire? Did you guys want kids?"

"We were going to wait another year before we started trying. She didn't want to have to take time off from work to have a baby then."

"I'm sorry, Mac," Stella reaches over to touch his shoulder.

"It's fine; I'm moving on now," he gives her a small, comforting smile. "Rest while you can; you'll need your strength to fight off the cold later."

"I'll go to sleep if you promise to rest as well. As much as you hate it, even you need sleep."

**A/N: Nothing really exciting in this chapter. I don't think there's much in the next chapter either; luckily I don't think I'm leaving you with much of a cliffhanger other than you don't know if they get out or not. I so meant to post this yesterday but my mom was on the computer like all day working on some stupid thing that she doesn't need until like the middle of August. Haven't really done much. I'm trying to finish the sixth Harry Potter book before we leave; I have like ten chapter left. We've been busy packing, but I think I have everything done now except what's in the laundry and my dresses. Which reminds me I need to go change the laundry and then take a shower. Maybe I'll do some more editting later so I won't have to do it before I post everytime. We still didn't find out what our contest show theme is for band. Maybe I should practice my flute before we leave too. So tonight while they're at my brother's baseball game I need to type the last five chapters, look up some lyrics, and download some songs. I'll probably think of something else. Now I can't remember what songs I was going to download. I promise, well I'll try, to post the next chapter tomorrow before I leave. Ooh, I need my camera too; can't forget that. Please tell me what you thought.**


	3. Saturday, 4 AM

**Chapter 3: Saturday, 4 AM**

Something bangs into the door, instantly waking Stella. "Mac?"

"I'm okay."

She looks around for him, finding him leaning against the door, a hand on his shoulder. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing; just go back to sleep."

"You tried to break down the door, didn't you?"

"I'm fine, Stella," Mac insists.

"You're not strong enough to break it down."

"Let me try it one more time, okay?" he backs up, preparing to run at the door again.

"I won't let you hurt yourself," she stands in front of the door, knowing that would stop him.

"Stel, move out of the way."

"No."

"Move, or I'll hit you."

"I'm not going anywhere until you promise not to try to break the door down," she crosses her arms.

"I will tie you to your chair if you don't let me try again."

"Stop this nonsense now, Mac. We both know you can't do it; you don't have to show off for my sake. The door opens in, not out, making it very unlikely anyone would have a chance of opening it from in here."

"Fine; I give in. Happy?" he sits down, pretending to be defeated to satisfy her.

"Let me see your shoulder."

"You're not a doctor; you can't do anything about it." Walking around him, she places a hand on his shoulder. "Ow, what was that for?"

"You'll have a nice bruise there in a couple hours." Stella pulls one blanket over him and sits down to cover herself up. "What do you do while I sleep?"

"Huh?"

"You keep telling me to go to sleep. Do you have some… evil plan you can't do when I'm awake or do you not like my company or what?"

"You're tired; that's all," Mac turns his head back to the door.

"Don't lie to me."

"When you're asleep, you can't stop me from trying to break that door down."

"How many times have you hit the door with your shoulder?"

"Two."

"Mac, go ahead and try to if that's what you want; I won't stop you. But if you get hurt, there's no way for us to get help until Monday morning unless the power comes back on," she tries to scare him into not doing it again.

He gets back up, much to her dismay, and goes back to the door. As she had predicted, his third try doesn't work and only hurts him more. "I'm sorry, Stella."

"Sorry for what?"

"Not being able to get you, us, out of here."

"It's not your fault, Mac. I wasn't expecting you to be able to break down the door. Plus, you're the only guy who's ever inflicted pain on himself for me," she gives him a small smile.

"What an honor," he smiles back, pretending to bow. "I just feel like it's my responsibility to get you out of here safely."

"You're so old fashioned."

"Well, if you don't like it, I'll stop."

"The world needs more men like you, Mac."

"Workaholics with no life that have no emotions. Yeah right. Sometimes I can't put up with myself; how do you manage?"

"You do have emotions, Mac; you're just better at hiding them. I meant polite, sensitive, caring, hard-working men." They sit silently for a few moments before Stella asks, "What time is it?"

"Four-thirty-seven."

"In the afternoon?" she says hopefully.

"Morning. What're we going to do for two days stuck in this freezing cold lab?"

"I have no idea."

"Are you warm enough?"

"For now. Well, it's a good chance to catch up on sleep since there aren't many distractions here," she suggests.

Mac yawns, "I might take you up on that."

**A/N: Well, that's it until I get back. I don't know what time we get home on the tenth, but I will try to post then; if not, I'll defintely get another chapter up for you on the eleventh. I hate vacations; well, no, I don't, I have that I can't update, or even worse, keep up with all your stories. I'll have like a hundred emails when I get back for all the updates. We went to see Pirates again; it didn't seem as long this time, except that I really had to use the bathroom, maybe since it wasn't late at night and we weren't so tired. But I'll be tired tomorrow; I have to get up at three in the morning because our flight is at six. Maybe for the first plane ride I'll sleep. Then when we get on the other plane in Texas, I can do sudokus on my game boy until we get there, or I guess I could do summer reading. I can't write since I'll have my mother sitting next to me. I'm not quite sure why we go to Texas first instead of Canada where we get on the boat. Wonder if we come straight home or if we have to go somewhere else first. We all have like three bags because my mom didn't want us to put our dress clothes with our other clothes so they wouldn't get wrinkled. Except maybe my dad; his suitcase looks really messy. I'm hungry; I hope my mom orders the pizza soon. Oh my god, Til Death do us Part is on Spike this week, and I'm so mad because I really want to see that episode but I really want to. Still haven't decided whether to buy the DVDs. I've got to go know. Please give me lots of reviews to read when I get back.**


	4. Saturday, 7 AM

**Chapter 4: Saturday, 7 AM**

As the AV lab gets colder, neither one of them can sleep. Silently they both sit there, staring off into space, their minds working furiously to come up with another escape plan.

Mac gets up and walks to the sink, "Would you like some water?"

"No thanks."

"Sure? Never know when it'll freeze, and we won't have it anymore."

"If we can find bowls or something like that in here, we could fill those up; the water would take longer to freeze in there than in the pipes," Stella gets up to search the cabinets. "These'll work; we can fill a couple up."

He fills the bowls up and places them on the counter. "Too bad there's no ladder in here. We could put the bowls right under the heat of the lights then and keep them from freezing, unless the generator goes out."

"If we had more stuff in here, we could do a lot more than this to save ourselves. Of all places in the lab to get stuck, the AV lab is probably the worst. At least in other places, the walls are made of glass, and you could break them to get out."

"Stella, why couldn't you have been elsewhere instead of watching surveillance videos?" Mac asks.

"You're the one who told me to watch the damn videos."

"I'm glad I came here to help you. Otherwise, you'd have been trapped in here alone."

"I wish we had gotten to leave when shift ended instead of maxing out on overtime. Then we wouldn't be stuck here; we'd be stuck at home with no heater. But there we'd have blankets and clothes to use," she sits back down.

"There has to be some way to open that door."

"Credit cards," Stella suddenly blurts out. She gets her wallet with her main credit cards, bank card, and ID that she might need for work out from her pocket, purse in her locker. Pulling her one credit card out, she stick it between the door and the frame, trying to force it open. The card snaps in half; she gets another one out and attempts it again. This one breaks as well.

"Why do you have two credit cards?" he asks, pulling his wallet out from his back pocket.

"I don't know; normally I just use the one."

"Here, let me try," Mac joins her by the door, following the same process. His credit card bends, almost ready to snap.

"They must have figured out people could still get in and changed the lock system."

"We bought this security system to protect the lab; it's doing its job too well. We can't leave."

"Then why do we have glass walls in the lab? Sure, robbers couldn't get in using a door, but they can just break down a wall."

One last time he tires to open the door using his ID. When it breaks, he says, "Well, guess I don't have to work anymore since I can't check in."

"Consider it an early retirement; with all the overtime, you got to retire at least ten years early," Stella jokes.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Stel," he smirks.

"So how long have we been stuck in here?"

"Over nine hours. I'm starting to notice the drop in temperature."

"Me too."

"Lucky we have such a big lab that it took a while to drop. Plus it was seventy-five in here before so it had a lot to go down."

"What'll we do when it finally reaches zero? Our bodies will be frozen when we're found."

"On the bright side, at least it's not summer. When we were found, we would have already started decomposing and smell the lab up," he doesn't succeed in making her smile.

"What if you freeze to death before I do? What am I suppose to do with your dead body staring at me until I die?"

"Stella, you're all skin and bones, no fat. I think you'll freeze to death before I would, no offense."

"What a nice thought," Stella cringes.

"Well… what should we do in the mean time?"

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews last chapter. I thought I was going to have millions of emails for updates, but I had more for reviews. Then when I went back to go through the stories since I left and see if there were any new Mac and Stella ones, there were so many. That made me happy, since there haven't been many lately, but why did everyone post while I was gone? So I'm trying to decide if I want to leave you guys with somewhat of a cliffhanger this time. If I do, I have to post everyday until I leave probably Sunday. If not, I just have to three of those days. Anyway... I got seasick on the boat the first full day we were on it. And I found NY on Wednesday and Thursday on some random channel, not CBS, which they did have. That CBS only showed the Monday night comedies over and over. So I got to watch All Access, which was good, because I'm writing another story after that episode. Then I found NY on the history channel in Canada the last day we were there. What's up with that? I didn't get much writing done, sadly. Didn't really get any new ideas either. So now I'm trying to put the pictures on the computer, but my thing isn't working right. Oh well, they can wait. My mom wants me to print all of them out. I have over a hundred on my camera, and I don't know how many she has, but that's a lot of paper. I need to go shower; we're going to see Harry Potter soon. I can't even remember what happened in this book. I reread the sixth one because the book's coming out soon, actually next weekend I think. My mom refused to stay up all night to get the new book, so we just ordered it. I'll probably post again tomorrow.**


	5. Saturday, 10 AM

**Chapter 5: Saturday, 10 AM**

"Mac, I have a bit of a problem," Stella complains.

"Besides the fact that you're trapped in the AV lab?"

"I have to pee."

"Use the sink, like I said."

"That's gross."

"Then you'll be holding it for an awfully long time," Mac smirks.

"Fine."

"I'm going to check the water, see if it's frozen yet," he gets up and goes over to the bowls, sticking a finger in. "Cold, but not frozen. Let's check the sink." He turns the sink on and water is still able to come out.

"Turn the sink off," she yells.

"Would you like something to drink, Stella?" he taunts.

She glares at him. "If you want to even have a chance of getting out of here alive, I suggest you stop, or there'll be blood frozen onto the floor. Need a hint at whose it will be?"

"No."

"Good. Now get away from the water."

"You do know that, if you kill me, you'll die too, right?"

"I don't want to talk about death."

"Okay… did you happen to catch the news and see if it'll warm up any this weekend?" he tries to start a conversation.

"Why do you want to talk about the weather? And, no, I don't watch the news because most of it is inaccurate."

"Read the paper at all?"

"Glance through it. All I remember is snow, snow, and more snow. How can anyone stand to live in Alaska and wherever else it's cold all year?" she crosses her arms over her chest in a weak attempt to keep warm. "I've got to pee really bad now."

Mac picks up his half frozen water bottle and drink the rest of the water. To her look, he says, "If you don't go, I have every right to bother you. Maybe it'll make you finally just go so I won't have to listen to you complain anymore."

"And I thought you were a gentleman," she rolls her eyes.

"Here, Stel, you need to keep hydrated," he offers her her water bottle.

"Shut up, Taylor," she throws it at his head, and he catches it.

"You can't hurt me."

"Wanna make a bet?"

"I don't gamble, Stella."

"Ever since you had to pay me ten dollars at the dog show," she smirks.

"I still can't believe you made me pay."

"I wanted my winnings; I don't bet for nothing."

"But I can get you back right now. Been to Niagara Falls?"

"Long time ago. Why?"

He smiles, "Wasn't it just amazing how much water falls a minute? Thousands of gallons. At night with the lights glowing, lighting up the water as it drops. It was so beautiful, don't you think?"

"Oh, alright," Stella gets up and walks to the sink, trying to figure out how to do this. As she turns around to seat herself on the counter, she finds him watching her. "Mac."

"Need help?"

"No, I can manage. But I'd prefer that you weren't watching me."

"If you insist," Mac turns around.

"Oh my God, the sink is freezing."

"What did you expect?" he laughs.

"It's not my fault that men were made to be lazy and can pee standing while women can't."

"No comment there."

She finishes up and washes her hands. "That feels so much better."

"Can I look now?"

"I'm completely dressed, if that's what you're asking."

"Would you like your water now?" he asks, offering it to her again.

"Not right now. I don't want to have to go again."

**A/N: I was so going to post this yesterday but my mom played one of those games you download off the internet all afternoon. I don't know how since it was only supposed to be an hour trial thing. Anyway, I still haven't decided whether or not to leave you with a cliffhanger. I might be able to post Sunday morning before I leave. And we officially only have fifteen chapters left to go. So I read somewhere that they're adding two new lab techs, one will be a love interest for Adam and the other will be a question document examiner that Stella might date. Then there was something about the first episode of next season, but I don't know whether to believe it or not since it said that the new detective was supposed to be Mac's new love interest, not a new ME. Well I have somewhat bad news for you guys: my brother is almost done with baseball, which means less time for me to type. For now, that's not a problem since I'm not even halfway through posting this story, but it will be when I've got all these stories written and no time to type them for you guys. I finished writing the All Access one yesterday, and I've got two and a half chapters of the next one typed. And I keep coming up with more ideas and can't decide which one to do next. I think most of them are going to be one chapter things, but two or three of them I'll do multiple chapters for. Most of them use a song. Well, now that we should have hot water, I need to go shower. I'll definitely post tomorrow for you guys. Keep the reviews coming.**


	6. Saturday, 1 PM

**Chapter 6: Saturday, 1 PM**

"I'm bored; how am I supposed to stay in here for another day and a half?" Stella whines.

"You been hanging around Danny too much?"

"It's not my fault you always pair us together."

"Let's see what we have in here and what we can come up with." Mac searches through cabinets and drawers again, surveying what he finds. He sits down beside her against the wall and holds out a pad of paper and pen. "Want to play a game?"

"What kind of game?"

He draws a big number sign and puts an X in the upper right corner. "Tic-Tac-Toe."

"That game is pointless; most of the time no one wins."

"There's nothing better to do right now."

"You have a point," she draws an O in the center.

He puts another X in the bottom center square. "We'll see who the smarter one is."

"Obviously that'd be me," she smiles, drawing an O left of her first one.

"Good luck with proving that, Bonasera," Mac takes the pen, drawing his X in the obvious center right square to stop her.

She then stops him from winning with an O in the bottom right corner, him again blocking her, then puts an O randomly in one of the last two squares.

"I win," he draws his X in the top center square.

"I didn't even notice that," she frowns. "Two out of three?"

"You can go first."

She draws the board and puts an O in the lower left corner. He puts an X in the center top square, then another two squares below it to stop her. Taking a third corner, Stella puts an O in the top right corner, knowing she'll win no matter where he puts his X.

"I win again," he puts his X in the center.

"This game is too complicated," Stella yells.

Mac laughs, "No, it's not. Five year olds can play it."

"Then why can't I?"

"Maybe it's too simple for you. Sometimes intelligent people get confused by simple things because they think too much."

"Why can you play it then?"

He shrugs, "I was never very good at difficult math, like trig, and logic problems. What about you?"

"I took all these advanced math and science classes in college. Funny part is I never understood long division until the end of sixth grade."

"How about we play one more game? I'll let you go first again."

"Fine," she draws the board and thinks carefully before putting an X in the center.

"You stole my letter," he teases, drawing an O below her mark.

She writes an X in the lower left corner. He chooses the obvious spot to stop her. Then she puts another X in the upper right corner. Mac puts an O in the bottom left corner.

"Hey, you're supposed to let me win," she starts to put her X in between his two Os.

"Are you sure you want to put that there?"

Stella looks around the board, "If I don't, you'll win."

He sighs, "Look at where your pieces are."

"Oh, I win," she makes her three in a row. "I'm never playing this game again."

"Even if your son asks you to with that look you can't say no to?"

"Mac, I don't have a son."

"Suppose you did?"

"His father can play tic-tac-toe with him."

"What if he's not home?"

"Then I'll bring him here so you can play with him."

**A/N: I probably won't post tomorrow so I'm not sure when you'll get the next chapter. Sometime next weekend most likely but I don't know when I'm coming home from my grandparents'. I got the idea for Stella not being able to play tic-tac-toe from my one friend; she's like really, really smart, but she can't play tic-tac-toe. I get to go see Kenny Chesney later. Actually, I'm not going to the concert to see him; Sara Evans and Sugarland are singing too along with like two or three other random people. I can't stand Kenny Chesney; I get so sick of his songs because they play them all the time on the radio. Although I haven't heard his new one yet, I don't think. I wrote like three more chapters yesterday for my one story, so now I think I only have three and a half left. Then I have three ideas that I actually know what I'm going to do during and maybe three or four songs I would like to use, but don't have an idea for what's going to happen in them. And I still have all my summer reading to do; not one chapter read, well, only the first one of Huckleberry Finn, which I can't understand. Spark notes, here I come. I've never used that before, except maybe once with Romeo and Juliet. Well, I've got some editting to do before I leave for a friend. Please give me some more reviews.**


	7. Saturday, 4 PM

**Chapter 7: Saturday, 4 PM**

"Any guesses as to what the temperature is in here now?"

"Fifteen degrees?" Stella shrugs.

"If only we had a way to make our own heat," he looks around the room.

"Why don't you see how many push-ups you can do in a half hour?"

"And what good would that do you? Besides, it's not good to sweat when it's this cold; the sweat with freeze and makes you colder."

"I don't get what you mean then."

"We need some sort of fire."

"If we destroy the lab while stuck in here, Gerard is going to make both of us pay for the damage. He tried to get money from us when we were trying to save the lab from the drug guys," she doesn't like his idea. "Plus I don't have that kind of money."

"That won't be a problem when the lab files a lawsuit against the security company. Gerard's the one who insisted on wasting money on the damn thing," Mac says, annoyed.

"What exactly do you think is in the AV lab that can help you build this fire?"

"Anything will burn. I just need a way to light it and a way to keep it contained. The sink would be an okay spot to put it in as long as you don't have to pee anymore."

"I don't like this idea of making a fire in here when we can't get out."

"Look for lots of paper to burn while I think of a way to light it," he instructs.

Sighing, she piles up all the paper she finds. "What if this doesn't work and the whole room catches on fire? We'll burn to death if we don't die from the smoke first."

"You worry too much, Stel. I've got it under control."

"You start a small fire in here, there'll still be smoke. That smoke will be stuck in here with us. Plus the fire will use up the oxygen, and we won't be able to breathe."

"What sounds better to you: burning to death or freezing to death? Either way we're going to die in here. Most of the dead people we see don't get a say in how they die; we have a choice."

"I'd rather wait in the cold, knowing there's a slight chance I'll live than give up hope and commit suicide by letting you start a fire in here," Stella yells, picking up her stack of papers. She takes a tiny pile and slides it under the door, continuing until there is almost no paper left.

"What are you doing?" he shouts.

"Not letting you kill me!"

"There was still a chance the fire wouldn't have killed us. We could have had heat for a while."

"Our odds are better in the cold than lighting that fire," she slides the last of the paper outside.

Mac shakes his head, "If I really wanted to, I could burn other things to start the fire."

"And how do you plan on starting it without a match?"

He holds up a magnifying glass, "The same way you kill ants with the sun rays. I'll hold it up to the light, and it'll start the paper, or in the case your lab coat, on fire." He grabs the coat from the back of her chair and focuses the magnifying glass.

She grabs it from his hand and throws it to the floor. "No," she says as the glass shatters.

He glares at her, "I'm not helping you anymore. You can freeze to death for all I care."

"Fine. Give me my lab coat." Angrily he throws it at her. "And my blanket."

"You stay on your side of the room, and I'll stay on mine."

"I don't need you to survive."

"We'll see about that."

On opposite sides of the room, the two cover up to keep warm, avoiding eye contact as they stare off into space.

**A/N: I'm pretty sure Mac would never put them in that kind of danger, but I wrote it anyway. I got home Thursday and was going to update yesterday, but my mom was yet again playing stupid computer games. I've been waiting for my Harry Potter book all day and it finally came; I've read the first six chapters so far. It's defintely bigger than six but I think smaller than four/five. Hopefully I can get it done tomorrow since I read five in like two days. So now I have to tell you about the drunk people at Kenny Chesney last week: there was one lady a couple seats down from us and each time she went by us, she had another glass of beer (she kept all her cups stacked and carried them around). I think the last time she went by she had ten; then we think she got sick. Sara Evans was okay; I didn't recognize half of her songs. Sugarland was good; I knew all but one song. And I think Brooks and Dunn were better than Kenny Chesney even though I don't care for either of them. But the best entertainment was definitely watching the drunk people. My neck hurts really bad; I went to the fair with my cousins Tuesday and this one spinny ride I couldn't move my head on. It was stuck out uncomfortably and it seemed like the ride would never end. Or it could be from the other spinny ride that didn't go in the air; that on was really jerky. So I have to get back to reading. More tomorrow.**


	8. Saturday, 7 PM

**Chapter 8: Saturday, 7 PM**

"Stella," Mac says softly, trying to wake her. With nothing better to do, she had fallen asleep after their argument. "Stel, wake up."

Her eyes open, blinking to recover from the light. As she opens her mouth to speak, she remembers the fight. "What do you want?"

"I need your permission to cross the line into your territory."

"For what reason?"

"I need to use the bathroom and get a sip of water," he requests.

"You know you could've gone while I was sleeping, and I never would have known."

"I was hoping we could stop our fighting; to… convince you I'm sorry, I thought it best to be honest with you. Now can you hurry and make up your mind?"

Stella smirks, "If I were evil, I'd make you hold it. Get it over with before I change my mind."

He walks over to the sink and unbuttons his pants, "Uh, do you mind, Stel?"

"Yes," she lays back down.

When he goes to wash his hands, only a small trickle of water comes out. "The pipe's freezing quickly; use the bathroom while you can. And our water is half frozen."

"How long have we been in here?"

"Around twenty-one hours."

"And how much longer will we be in here?"

"At least another thirty-six hours," he sits beside her.

"You're on the wrong side of the room."

"We need to stop this."

"Stop what?"

"This arguing. If it continues, we don't have a chance to survive."

"Just like we didn't have a chance if you were to start a fire," she states.

"I admit to being wrong about lighting a fire. It would've been more of a problem than a solution. You were right in trying to stop me. If I weren't so desperate to get out, I'd probably have realized how dangerous it would be."

"I accept your apology."

"Don't you have anything you want to say?"

"No." Mac continues to stare at her. "What? I only did what I did to keep you from lighting that fire."

"So the whole thing was my fault?"

Stella nods, "Basically."

"You're hopeless when it comes to apologizing," he shakes his head.

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm trying to fix things between us so we don't die alone, angry at each other. If that's how you'd like to go, Stel, I don't care."

"I'm sorry… that we fought, that I broke the magnifying glass and got rid of the paper so you wouldn't light a fire. You just wouldn't listen to my opinion."

"Was that so hard?"

"Yes."

"Are you still trying to prove you don't need me to survive?"

"But I don't need you," she says stubbornly.

"You just don't want to admit it," he teases.

She glares at him, "I'm not Danny; I don't need other people."

"You know you do."

"Shut up, or I'll send you back to your side of the room."

"You wouldn't."

"Want to bet?"

"Sorry, I don't have enough money to pay you for a bet again," Mac grins. "So, we're good?"

"We're great," Stella kisses his cheek. His cheeks redden. "I'm… I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"You didn't," he gets up and goes back to his side.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, worried about him.

**A/N: Still a cliffhanger. They make up, then end up fighting again. I think the fun comes in the next chapter with trying to keep warm. And they do a lot of talking before getting out. So... I've been reading since like three o'clock yesterday afternoon and I still haven't finished the Harry Potter book. I think I only have like two hundred pages left; I should finish it tonight or tomorrow morning. Then I'm still stuck with only summer reading. There's some CSI books I want to order, but there about like the effects and stuff, not stories. It seems like there was something else I wanted to tell you guys... I can't remember it. So after I finish reading, I need to start my sewing again and practicing my flute and writing and then the dreaded summer reading. I have to finish at least one of the dumb books before band starts. So... has anyone read any rumors/spoilers for next season? I haven't heard much, but it seems like the stuff I read is only like half true. Anyway, I'll probably post tomorrow. Thanks for reviewing.**


	9. Saturday, 10 PM

**Chapter 9: Saturday, 10 PM**

After almost three more hours of not talking, Stella breaks the silence. "Are we fighting again?" He doesn't answer. "Mac, answer me at least."

"I… why did you… do you…?" Mac can't figure out what he wants to say to her.

"It meant nothing. Just forget it."

"But… why did… me?" he's tongue-tied.

"I don't know. I just… did," she shrugs. "Did I upset you?"

"Yes… no," he sighs. "I'm not sure."

She looks down at her hands. "What do you need me to do to fix it?"

"In winter, how do you keep body heat from escaping?"

"What?"

"How do you keep body heat -?"

"No, I heard you; it was just kind of random. Um, put on lots of layers…"

"We can't really do anymore of that."

"Turn on the heat or fireplace, but we can't do that. Well, in the movies, they always… you know, use each other to keep warm."

"That's it!"

"What's it?"

"We have to use each other to maintain our body heat. We have to sleep together."

"What?!" she yells, astonished.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I meant… we have to… I don't know how to say it," Mac avoids looking at her.

"And how do we… without… exactly?"

"I don't know."

They stare anywhere but at each other, trying to avoid the inevitable. Finally he gets up and walks to her, bringing his blanket. He sits beside her, still avoiding her.

After a minute, Stella timidly rests her head on his shoulder. "There's no way to do this without it being awkward."

"Let's get it over with." When she lifts her head up, he lays down on the floor. "Give me your lab coat."

"What for?" she looks down at it.

"A pillow."

"I don't have a pillow."

He pats his chest, "That's my job."

"Are you sure -?"

"I've moved on, Stel. Don't worry about me. But if you're still uncomfortable…"

"No, you're the only man I could ever be comfortable doing this with. Besides, it's not like we have another option," she scoots towards him, still sitting. "What was wrong after I kissed you?"

"I guess I was just surprised. You didn't do anything wrong," he holds his arms out to her.

Gently she lays down, resting her head on his chest. As he puts his arms around her, she wraps her arms around his middle. "Mac, maybe we should put the blankets on too."

"Oh, right. Here, I've got them," he places one blanket over both of them as best he can, then puts the other over mainly her. "Better?"

"Yes, but it's still cold."

"And it'll only get worse."

"We've been in here for twenty-four hours; shouldn't the temperature be the same as outside now?"

"It's probably within a few degrees. But it's night now, and the temperature will drop even more."

"Why did I stay in New York after I graduated?" Stella asks herself. "I hate snow."

"Hate is a strong word."

"But I do hate it. Except seeing it in Central Park," she yawns.

"It's alright. Go to sleep," Mac rubs her back.

"Good night, Mac."

"Night, Stel," he whispers. When her breathing evens, he says even softer, "Love you." Then, he too allows sleep to overcome him.

**A/N: Finally some good stuff for you guys. And I've editted through chapter seventeen so there shouldn't be any delays with my posting for the next week or so. My brother's last baseball game is Wednesday unless they win, which is very unlikely since they lost all but two games. So I have to get some more stuff typed that night. I've got an All Access one written and one using a Nickelback song. And I just started another Friday. And I still have like five more ideas to write after that. So... I finished Harry Potter at twelve-forty-seven last night. It was pretty good. And it is longer that the fourth, but shorter than the fifth. I think I really need to set goals for myself for this summer reading stuff. I want Huckleberry Finn to be read before August starts and My Antonia or whatever it is read by... August twelth, leaving ten days for To Kill a Mockingbird. And then I have no idea what I'm going to read. I guess I need to start using my gift cards to get more books. Okay, so I read somewhere that this new lab tech that Stella likes is only twenty-five-ish. And since Melina is forty, I'm assuming Stella would be no younger than thirty-five. Ten years, nope, she needs to just forget about it. Although, since Gary is like ten years older than her, Mac probably is too and I have no problem with her going out with him. Anyway, back to this new guy: it said he was pretending to be an expert forged documents examiner. Does that mean he is a document examiner and he just isn't quite an expert? Or is he pretending to be a documents examiner to sabatoge the lab? Stella just needs to forget all men because they all are causing trouble. Except Mac; she should tell him she loves him. **


	10. Sunday, 1 AM

**Chapter 10: Sunday, 1 AM**

Mac wakes up, stretching his tight muscles from laying on the floor. Contradicting when he fell asleep, he feels no extra weight from Stella on his chest now. He looks down at his feet; no head of curls blocks his view. Lifting up the blankets, he finds her not there either.

"Stella," he calls, sitting up and looking around. She is not on the floor. He stands. "Stel?"

She is curled up uncomfortably in a computer chair. No reaction comes from her at the sound of her name.

Placing a hand on her cheek, he immediately pulls it back as though she burnt him. Her skin is colder than that of any dead body he's felt. Worriedly Mac tries to wake her by moving the chair.

Stella's eyes fly open, "What's happening?"

"Just making sure you're alright. Your skin is freezing."

"Aren't you cold too?"

"Not as cold as you are. Here, take my jacket," he pulls it off and tries to put it over her shoulders.

"I don't need it," she pushes it away.

"Yes, you do."

"You'll freeze without it."

"I'll be fine," he lays it on her.

She throws it at him, "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can. And you're good at it."

"Then take your damn jacket back!"

He sighs, "You need it more."

"I don't need your sympathy."

"Stella, you're nothing but skin and bones. Take all the warmth you can get. I have enough fat and muscle to last a couple hours without my jacket while you use it."

"Fine." She takes the jacket from him and puts it on. It's way too big for her, the sleeves falling a couple inches below her fingertips. "Why's your jacket so big? You're not fat."

Mac chuckles, "Well I'm certainly not as skinny as you are."

"Thanks," she curls back up.

He watches her, still concerned. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Why did you move while I was sleeping?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Stel," he says in a warning tone.

"It's just… well I already told you I haven't been on a date since… what happened. I've never been so close to a guy… slept next to one since before I… found the videos. It just brought… memories back. I couldn't stay beside you," Stella tries to explain.

"I'm sorry."

"You couldn't have known. So… what will we do now?"

"I'm not sure."

"Maybe we should try it again. I'll try not to leave you."

"No, not if it hurts you."

"What if we just… sit instead of lay down?"

"Okay. But tell me if it's too much for you," he makes her promise. He grabs the blankets and sits down, leaning against a wall. She joins him a minute later, resting her head on his shoulder, an arm around his waist. His arm wraps around her shoulders, pulling her as close as possible.

"Mac, I just don't get it," she says, a perplexed look on her face.

"Don't get what?"

"A lot of things, actually, like why Frankie did what he did or how someone can hurt innocent children or why we can't find a cure for cancer and stuff."

"I can't help you with any of those; I'm not sure why either," Mac admits.

"But right now, what I don't get is why the two of us, two of the most intelligent people in the NYPD, can't find a way to get out of here," Stella frowns, nonplussed.

This too confuses him.

**A/N: So Stella's still stubborn. And we are now half way finished. I started to type my All Access story and should finish it tomorrow while they're at my brother's baseball game. We went to see Hairspray today; it was all right. Other than that, I've done like nothing all day. I should read, since I'm only on page ten, but I seriously don't understand what they're saying. We have to fill out these chart things having to do with plot and themes and characters and vocab and stuff. For themes/lessons, I'm going to put learn proper English. Then there's tons of vocab like hain't and warn't. I've never heard those words before. And connection, there are some people who can't speak/write proper English, no offense to those of you who aren't good with English because you're trying, unlike these stupid characters. Maybe I'll just skip this one for now and read To Kill a Mockingbird. Wait a second, if I've already read that one, how can I do predictions/foreshadowing? I know what's going to happen. Okay, so when I checked my mail today, I thought nobody had reviewed because I only had emails from story updates. Then when I came on here, you guys did review after all. Thanks. Anyway... I have a karate make up lesson later and have to go. Update tomorrow.**


	11. Sunday, 4 AM

**Chapter 11: Sunday, 4 AM**

"You asleep?" Stella whispers, moving her head to look up at him.

"No. Can't."

"Me either." She yawns and lifts her weight off of Mac. Thirsty, she goes to get a drink from one of the bowls, only to find both of them almost completely frozen. "We now have no water."

Mac, still on the ground, stretches. "I always thought those chairs were uncomfortable. Now I don't think they're that bad."

She laughs, "Still, a bed is much better."

"But why would we keep a bed in the lab?"

"So you don't have to sleep on that couch in your office. Yes, I do know you still sleep in your office sometimes."

"Maybe twice a month."

"You need to go home and sleep _every _night, Mac. You're human, whether you think so or not."

"I don't know about that. I must be a superhero if I can survive the weekend in here with you and no heater."

"And what did you mean by that?"

He shakes his head, "Nothing. Forget I said it."

"But you did say it."

"Well, we both know that we don't always get along, especially after being together for a while. It hasn't really been that bad in here, minus the fire thing."

"Another thing I don't understand: we're so close to each other, yet we fight all the time," she sits back down beside him.

"Married people always fight with each other. I'd like to think that they are close or they wouldn't have gotten married."

"For one thing, they're together all the time."

"So are we. Both of us have made work our whole life."

"Wait, why are we talking about married couples?" she interrupts.

"I'm trying to explain why we fight so much."

"I get that; we spend too much time together."

"Claire and I spent very little time together because of my job. The night before… we had a big fight. She thought I was having an affair… with you because I always told her I was at work, and I was. I tried to tell her I wouldn't do that to her and you wouldn't either; you two were friends. We never got to apologize since… the towers fell."

"That must be worse than her not being found," Stella puts an arm around him.

"I shouldn't have told you this. Now you have to deal with it too."

"Mac, I can't see Claire thinking we're having an affair. She didn't mean it; she was just jealous because you spent more time with me than her. She asked me if we were a couple moths before… that day… when we went shopping together." She watches him as he takes the news in. "I'm sure she's forgiven you for not spending enough time with her."

Mac nods, "Thank you, Stel."

"I'm kind of hungry."

"That banana's still up there. You can have it if it isn't frozen yet."

"No, I can't let you starve."

"Just eat the dumb banana. Do you have to argue with me every time?"

"Yes. Here," she offers him half the banana.

"Let me see your half."

"Why?"

"So I can make sure your half is bigger."

"Than it wouldn't be half, would it?" she smirks and takes a bite.

"Smarty pants."

She sticks her tongue out, "So?"

"You are so immature, Bonasera."

"I'm still hungry."

"Want the rest of my banana?" he offers.

"No, I don't really like bananas."

"But you just ate part of one."

"Well there's nothing else in here to eat unless I become a cannibal."

**A/N: I would've updated yesterday, but when I first checked my email, you guys had let me down. I didn't have any reviews. Then when I checked later I had three, but I didn't feel like updating. And this morning I had two more. Thanks; now I feel better. So... I'm on page one hundred sixteen in Huckleberry Finn. And as soon as I finish this I'm off to read some more. Actually the book isn't all that bad; it's just kind of hard to understand what they're talking about. And my chart is halfway done, at least. I have a bazillion characters and lots of little details for the plot, though I can't exactly figure out what the main conflict is except they're running away. But I have no connections, themes, symbols, or predictions. Then when you look on the back of the book, it states that there is no plot or moral in the book. Well how am I supposed to fill that out on my chart then? Summer reading is so stupid. I practiced my flute today; I've got three out of seven memorized (just football show). Hopefully I can get at least two more done before camp starts next week. What else... not very much writing getting done. I'm stuck on my one story so I started another. And typing wise, I've got the All Access one done and three chapters of the Nickelback one. Can't remember what happens next chapter in this one, but the one after that is good; Stella's climbing in the air vent. More tomorrow as long as you continue to review.**


	12. Sunday, 7 AM

**Chapter 12: Sunday, 7 AM**

"Stella, I'm glad I got stuck in here with you."

"Really? This is one of the worst ways you can spend a weekend," Stella draws on the back of a piece of paper she managed to get from under the door.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean?"

He watches her, "Of al the people to be stuck in the lab with in below zero temperatures and no power, I'm glad it's you with me."

"What difference does it make?"

"Well, it would be awkward to be in here with any of the guys, and even with Lindsay it would be that way. Not that I don't get along with them… it's just… I'm closer and more comfortable with you. Besides, the whole laying together thing to keep in body heat never would have happened with anyone else."

"I still don't really understand why you're happy I'm in here rather than someone else," she frowns.

"It's different for you, I guess. You're friends with everyone on the team. I'm the one you're closest to, but you wouldn't have a problem sitting like this with Don or Sheldon or even Danny. Now you might be more comfortable with Lindsay than any of the other guys because women always hug and stuff," Mac goes on and on.

"No, we don't. Only when something's wrong."

"Whatever," he rolls his eyes. "Guys aren't touchy-feely with each other like women are."

"I'm not a touchy-feely person," she pulls her arm from around him. "You're the one who said we should be close together."

"I'm just trying to keep us from freezing to death. That doesn't make me touch-feely," he tucks a stray lock of curls behind her ear.

Stella smiles, "If you say so, Mac."

"I guess you don't believe everything I say anymore. Then again, you probably never did."

"I stopped believing you when Aiden joined the team, and you said nothing would ever happen between her and Danny."

"That was almost eight years ago, Stella. You've been fooling me this whole time?" he asks, surprised.

"When Aiden left, Danny sure didn't waste his time finding someone else to flirt with. If it were him and Lindsay stuck in here instead of us, I'm not sure whether they'd be making out or screaming at each other."

"Did he ever try to flirt with you?"

"Not like he did with them, but I know he looks at me."

"What about Flack and Sheldon?"

"Sometimes, when you're not around. No where near as bad as Danny flirting with Lindsay."

"Sid been trying to come on to you lately?"

"Every time I step into the morgue, unless you're with me. When I work with Hawkes, I let him get out the autopsy findings; he comes back saying how sad Sid was because I didn't come see him. He's very strange, but it wouldn't be the same without him," she sighs. "Why do you have a sudden interest in the guys flirting with me?"

"No reason."

She doesn't believe him but find arguing useless. "Jane been flirting with you?"

"Not since she saw me and Peyton together."

"And how've you been since the break up?"

"Fine. I broke up with her, Stella. She's the one you need to be comforting," Mac reminds her.

"She never really liked me."

"She was like Claire, jealous of you."

"Why does everyone think we're dating? We're fine as best friends," Stella pulls her knees to her chest in an effort to keep warm.

**A/N: So the next chapter is good, kind of funny too. I spent my whole day sewing, well, most of it anyway. And I still haven't finished the dumb clown fish. After I'm done posting this I have to go read. Only a hundred and thirty pages to go. And I still haven't found a plot or theme; just more characters to add to my list. I think I'm seriously going to use spark notes after I finish the book. Anyway, the other day I was looking for more info about season four. I found out that the new guy that Stella likes is there for a reason (and not just to get money for working). Somehow she ends up being victimized yet again, though this time I don't think it's physically. He's using her to get to someone, most likely Mac. And maybe, just maybe, after seeing Stella hurt again, this time with him involved, he'll realize he loves her and save her from being hurt again. I doubt it, but I can still hope. I was just watching Providence; it was the one where Syd and Owen start dating and she drops the bowling ball on his foot. That was hilarious. Then they end up golfing because they both suck at it and say they're not going to date anymore. And then they kiss. Guess that plan didn't work. Well... I have nothing else to say. Update tomorrow.**


	13. Sunday, 10 AM

**Chapter 13: Sunday, 10 AM**

"There has to be a way out," Mac mutters to himself. As he looks around the room, his eyes stop on the air vent before shifting to Stella.

She watches him look back and forth between her and the vent, "What're you up to?"

"Do you think you can fit in the vent?"

"Maybe," Stella shrugs. "But how will that help us?"

"You can crawl in there and get to the hallway. Then you can break into my office, get the keys, and come back to save me. We'll be able to leave."

"Just one problem: the vent's all the way up there."

"I'll climb on a chair and get the cover off for you. Then I'll lift you up so you can climb in there." With little difficulty he gets the cover off. He looks at her, uncertain how to get her up there.

She takes his jacket off and hands it to him before climbing on the chair. "Gerard obviously hired the cheapest cleaning crew. This is filthy."

"Lucky you," he grimaces.

"Okay. I don't care how you get me up there, just don't let me fall," she puts her hands on the ledge and lifts herself up. "A little help here, Mac," she calls, halfway in.

He helps her get all the way in and climbs down from the chair to wait for her to open the door. She sneezes, "Bless you."

"Thank you. I'm not sure whether that was because it's so cold or so dusty."

"I can trust you to come back and rescue me, right?"

"Yes. You've kept me from freezing to death so I'll help you."

"Can you see into the hallway yet?"

"There's a vent up ahead, but I'm not sure where it exits to yet. And there's a side vent thing that leads somewhere else," she sneezes again. "Something just moved."

"Stella, I'm sure there's nothing in there. Just keep going."

"I think it was a spider."

"What's a little spider going to do to you?" Mac tries to get her to overcome the fear.

"No, it isn't little, Mac. It's like the size of my hand. It kind of looks like the one… the one Hawkes made me hold." Stella realizes it is. "That spider got lose in the lab, and no one bothered to tell me?"

"No one told me we had a run away spider either. It's probably not the same one. In fact, you're probably just imagining it."

"I don't think I am. Anyway, I'm stuck in here; the cover is off into the hallway, but I can't get down head first. And I can't turn around in the side vent because that's where the spider is. I'm coming back out."

"No, you aren't. Ignore the damn spider."

"I can't. That thing is poisonous."

"If I could fit in there, I would face the spider for you. But I can't get in there," he tries now to guilt her into doing it.

"Nope," she starts to scoot back out.

"This is our last chance to get out."

"It's not working, Mac. I'm not doing it."

"What if I get you breakfast everyday for a year?"

"No, that'll just make me fat."

"So you can go out and face murderers but you don't have the courage to face a measly little spider?"

"Exactly." Her legs are out of the vent now, and she continues to slowly lower herself out. Suddenly she slips and goes falling to the floor.

Mac, luckily, had been standing below her to help her out. He acts quickly and manages to break her fall. "You okay?"

Stella opens her eyes and looks around. "I think so." She sits up, then realizes he is under her. "I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"

"No, just a few bruises," he takes her hand and sits up.

"Thank you for saving me, Mac. And I'm sorry I couldn't get us out of here."

"Don't worry about it; we'll get out of here sometime."

**A/N: So... my brother is being annoying. I have to make this quick. Unlike this website today; man, it takes an hour to open a page. The next few chapters is a lot of them talking about religion and the government. I don't mean to offend anyone with what they say because it's not necessarilly what I believe. So, yeah, I hope nobody is upset by it, and I'm sorry if you are. He finally went away. I went to my grandma's today; my cousin was talking about weird things that I really don't care to know. And my grandma's dog ran away so we had to chase him all around the neighbor's house. What else was I going to tell you... I don't think there was anything. I'll update sometime tomorrow. Please review. Thanks.**


	14. Sunday, 1 PM

**Chapter 14: Sunday, 1 PM**

"How did that cold case with the guy from Philadelphia go?" Mac asks out of nowhere.

"That was over six months ago."

"I've been meaning to ask you since I know you were personally involved. At that time, I was busy with the trial and sine then I've just forgotten."

"We… never found her, Mindy. No one was ever arrested."

"Did you have something to do with why she was never found?" he asks quietly. She doesn't answer. "Stel?"

"It's just not fair," Stella says angrily. "He had sexually assaulted her for at least a year before she ran away. He deserved what he got for being so… sick. It was obvious she did it, but it's not right for her to be punished after what he did to her."

"That wasn't for you to decide, Stel."

"You'll never find her anyway."

"I didn't say that she should have gone to jail. In fact, I'm on your side. But she still murdered someone, no matter how cruel he was," he touches her shoulder and makes her shiver.

"She ran away to save me from being hurt by him. I owed it to her not to arrest her."

"Why do you hide your past, Stella? At team Christmas parties and stuff, you never tell stories like the rest of us. Sure, you might not have had the best holiday, but it couldn't have been that bad. You've never even told me anything."

She takes a deep breath, "No one thinks foster care is that bad unless you've been through it. You wouldn't believe my stories anyway."

"Try me."

"I spent the first six years of my life in an orphanage; as far as I can remember, that was okay. I became friends with Mindy there, and we were taken to our first foster family together. I never understood why they moved me after she ran away until years later. My next foster mother found me too inquisitive and locked me in a closet every time I asked her something. When I was eleven, my foster father beat me because he thought I was making up stories about his 'perfect' son drinking and doing drugs. My next foster father accidentally on purpose pushed me down a flight of stairs when I corrected his grammar, breaking both my arms, yet still made me help clean. And my last set of foster parents locked me out of the house for being a minute late and did nothing to help me when the neighbor's son tried to rape me during the night," she completes her story. "Basically you just heard my whole life story until I was fifteen."

"Wow. I didn't know it was that bad."

"No one wanted to be friends with someone who came in to school with a new injury every week. I went through every excuse made up."

"Stel, I'm sorry I asked you about it," Mac hugs her with one arm.

"I guess not everyone can have the perfect childhood."

"Some are better than others, but no one deserves anything like that."

"And I still haven't figured out why my parents left me," she sighs. "They never came looking for me."

"I'm sure they had a very good reason," he tells her, although he knows why they did, and it wasn't a good reason. "Why didn't you get Child Services involved so it would stop?"

"There was no proof that I was pushed down the stairs or that my foster father was the one who beat me and not someone else. The only thing I would've gotten from that is more injuries. If only we had the technology now back then," Stella says, leaning into him. "I'm glad I finally have a friend."

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday. My mom made me help her spring clean. Yes, she's just now spring cleaning the downstairs of our house. I just finished typing another story so I've got two for you guys when this one's done. I'm almost finished writing another one, just a couple more sentences should do it. I hate writing the end of a story; there's very few endings to my stories I like. I just don't know how to end them. This is one story that I like the very end of. Anyway... band starts Wednesday. I have almost five songs memorized and about half of the other two. I should go practice my flute. And read. I have a hundred pages left of Huck Finn and only two days, well one and a half now, to finish reading it. My neighbor had to read it and My Antonia, the other book I have to read. She said they were both boring. Great. I had the randomest dream last night, kind of like one of Syd's. Actually, she was in it. And Joanie. It had something to do with sewing though, but not the fish I'm doing now. I'm not sure what we were making. I haven't had a dream about Stella and Mac in a while. I can't even remember what happened in the last one, but I don't think they got married. So... I'll update tomorrow. Then Wednesday I should be able to tell you what our contest theme is. Please continue reviewing; I love to hear from you guys.**


	15. Sunday, 4 PM

**Chapter 15: Sunday, 4 PM**

"Fifteen more hours to go," Mac says, checking his watch.

"I think I'm more bored today than I was yesterday, if it's even possible," Stella grumbles, readjusting the blankets around their bodies.

"It's very hard to keep you entertained, Stel, even when we're not locked in the AV lab."

"Why don't you tell me a story?"

"A story? About what?"

"I don't know," she shrugs. "Tell me what it's like to grow up with parents that care about you, what normal families do or something."

"You can't dwell in your past, or lack thereof, forever. It can't be changed."

"Until someone figures out how to time travel."

"I hope not in my lifetime. People shouldn't mess with that sort of thing."

"Mac, if people hadn't 'messed around' and advanced technology, we'd be out of a job right now," she smirks.

"I swear you'll die with that grin on your face," he smiles to himself.

She frowns, "I thought you were supposed to be telling stories."

"I can't remember forty years ago."

"Come on, Mac. I told you about my past; yours can't be that bad."

"When I was fourteen, my father asked me to… unplug all the machines keeping him alive. He had a long term illness and knew he would die anyway. He… didn't want to suffer any longer. But I refused to be responsible for his death, even if he wanted to go on. He died three days later," Mac looks down at the floor in thought.

"I'm sorry," she puts a hand on his arm. "No offense here, but are we trying to compete for the most depressing story of our childhood? Or can't we get our minds off death because it's below zero degrees in here, and we'll most likely freeze to death?"

"Both of us have seen too much of the dark side of life."

"What do you mean?" Stella questions.

"We've seen too much death; no one should have to deal with death and all we do, especially so early in life. Or abuse and neglect I guess it is in your case."

"It's hard to believe there really is a God sometimes. If there is someone that powerful watching over us, how can He let innocent children get hurt? Why can't He stop murderers?" she thinks out loud. "My history teacher freshman year of high school said religions only exist to provide answers for what we don't know."

"He was probably right."

"He was a she."

"Do you believe in God?" he asks, looking curiously at her.

"Not since I started school and learned that kids were supposed to live with their parents, not in an orphanage or foster care or wherever. No one would explain to me why I wasn't with my parents."

"I think that part of the problem in the US is our government. Countries with stricter governments have a lower crime rate. This democracy is too loose to protect its people. Wherever there's people, there'll be murder so crime can't totally be stopped, but it can be reduced," Mac reasons.

"And what can two CSIs do to change the government?"

"Next election year we'll run for office, me as president, you as vice president. Better start our campaign soon."

"Why can't I be president?" Stella complains.

"The people wouldn't elect a thirty-seven year old woman to run the country, Stel."

"I think Congress would be better for changing the government. And what makes you think people would vote for you?"

**A/N: I've done like nothing all day. Actually, I take that back; I finished Huckleberry Finn. I still need to finish my chart though. Maybe I'll wait until after I finish the next book. When did I say I had to have this one read by? I think the twelfth but I'm not sure. That shouldn't be a problem. And I sewed too. I realized that I used the wrong color gold on the fish too, but that can't be changed now. Well... band starts tomorrow. I should probably practice my flute again tonight. I can't wait to find out what our contest show is; I really hope it's not superheroes. Oh, they're making a CSI magazine. Fourty dollars for like six magazines, and it comes out every two months. Each magazine deals with a different CSI show and has like interviews and behind the scenes. How can I convince my mom to get it? There'd be two of us reading it and maybe the neighbor would read it if we got it. And my one friend could borrow it, if I ever see her this year because according to the schedules they gave us at the end of last year, we didn't have anything together. Hey, it's the ice cream man. He always comes right before we eat dinner; it's not fair. Next chapter it gets really interesting. Truth or dare. I can't believe there's only five more chapters left. I'll update tomorrow sometime. Thanks.**


	16. Sunday, 7 PM

**Chapter 16: Sunday, 7 PM**

"Truth or dare?"

"Hm?" Stella lifts her head to look at him.

"Truth or dare?" Mac repeats.

"Exactly what can we dare the other to do when we're stuck in here?"

"Pick it and you'll see."

"Truth."

"What is one of the things you regret the most in your life?"

"Running for my gun instead of getting out," she has to fight back the tears.

Although she doesn't specify when, he knows exactly what she is talking about. "Stel, you did what you needed to. If you hadn't, you might not be here. Don't regret killing him."

"There were other ways to save myself without murdering him."

"He deserved what he got after what he did to you."

"I think I hurt myself more than I hurt him," she admits.

He's not sure how to help her. "You seem like you've healed a lot since then."

"Then only men I've trusted since then are the four I work with."

"That's good. At least you can work without looking over your shoulder," he tries to joke.

She shakes her head, "Your turn."

"Truth."

"Are you really ready to move on?"

"Yes. Peyton and I dated for a while, and I think I was ready then, but she just wasn't the right person," he answers. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"How many men have you…?"

"What?!"

"You can't chicken out, Stel; it's a truth question, not a dare. So how many?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"It's not."

Stella sighs, "Three, though the first wasn't by choice."

"You were…?" he can't bring himself to say it.

"No, not really. We had been dating for six months and still hadn't… done it. My boyfriend took advantage of the fact that I was a little drunk before college graduation. When I woke up next to him the morning after, I broke up with him."

Mac nods, "That's why you're so… private and guarded."

"Partly. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I thought I was the risky one," she smiles. "I don't know; go do something to impress me."

He sits, deep in thought, for a couple minutes. "Anything?"

"As long as it doesn't injure me or you, anything."

"Close your eyes," he orders.

"Should I be nervous?"

"Just close them."

"Oh, alright," she complies. When she feels something against her cheek, her eyes fly open. "What are you…?"

His face is close to hers, closer than normal, like he's about to kiss her. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Did you kiss me?"

"Truth or dare?" he asks hurriedly, thinking he made a mistake.

"What? You never answered me."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Earlier you mentioned a guy you liked, but you didn't think he returns your feelings. Who is that guy?"

"I can't tell you."

"Come on, Stel."

"Promise not to say anything?" Stella asks slowly.

"Yeah, whatever," Mac rushes her on. "Who is it?"

She takes a deep breath, "You."

**A/N: And of course Mac will have to comment on that, but I guess you'll have to wait and see what he says. Only four more chapters to go. Well, it turns out Superheroes is our theme for contests this year. I wonder if that what we're playing at New Orleans. Yeah, in case I didn't tell you guys all ready, the band is going to play at the National Championship Game this year, the one Ohio State and Florida were in last year. There's stuff from Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Superman, anad Batman; the only ones I would know are the ones from Spiderman. It doesn't look to bad to play, only three and five look difficult. For some reason we have five songs this year, which is kind of odd because the songs look longer than the ones from last year and we had to take some stuff out then so we weren't going over the time limit. I haven't read anything else about the new season yet; I take that back, there was something about Danny and Lindsay. And I still haven't figured out how to convince my mom to get the magazine. So... I don't have anything else to tell you guys. How sad. I should go look on ebay and see if DVDs are available. I can ask for the third season for Christmas then. Well... I don't think I'll update tomorrow, but I defintely do so Friday. This story should be done by Monday/Tuesday of next week. Then I'll post the All Access one. I'm stuck with my story again; it's a sad one. The song for some reason reminded me of them the first time I heard it, which isn't so good because the lovers in that story end up dying, as do the lovers in my story. Please review. Thanks.**


	17. Sunday, 10 PM

**Chapter 17: Sunday, 10 PM**

"Me?" Mac repeats, worried yet excited.

"Yes, Mac, you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I don't know what to say."

"You promised you wouldn't say anything. Please, just forget I said anything," Stella moves away from him and curls into a ball.

"I can't, Stel."

"Why not? It was a stupid game, and don't worry about what I -" she is cut off by a finger on her lips.

"I love you, Stella." She stares at him with a blank expression. "Say something."

"I want out of here," she rises and practically runs to the door. Her fists pound against the door in a futile, unheard plea for help.

Not about to let her get hurt, he follows her, grabbing her by the wrists from behind to stop her. "You're afraid."

"No, I'm not," she struggles to break free.

"Then why do you want out of here so badly now that you know my feelings for you?"

"Let me go."

"It's okay to be scared," he whispers, letting her go.

Stella leans her forehead against the door. "I'm not scared of you."

"I know that you know perfectly well that I won't hurt you; that's not what I meant."

"How can I even try to love again?"

He touches her back, making her flinch. "Picture this as the final battle in the war against him. To finally get rid of him, you must love again."

"But he's already dead," she turns around, letting him see her tear-stained face.

"He obviously is still in your dreams and memories."

"How do I get rid of him?"

"Let him know you've moved on, that he can't taunt you anymore. Tell me, and him, that you love me," Mac takes her hands.

"Do you know for a fact this works?"

"No."

"Why should I try then?"

"Because I need to hear you say you love me."

She throws her arms around his neck, "You'll never know how much I love you."

He wraps his arms around her slender frame and kisses her cheek again before burying his face in her curls. "I've got you."

"I don't feel any different."

"Give it some time."

"I'm still scared."

"We'll take this as slow or fast as you want; I don't want to hurt you or push you into anything," he tries to give her a little space, but she's holding on to him too tightly.

"I'm sorry for this, Mac," she pulls back to look at his face.

"It's okay. Do what you need to."

Stella leans in slowly and kisses his lips, short and sweet. "You're already the best man I've dated."

"You can tell with only one kiss?"

"No, you're the most concerned and caring man. I imagine you're the best in other ways too but that'll have to wait."

Mac lifts a hand to touch her cheek, "You're incredibly beautiful."

She blushes and looks at the floor. "I haven't heard that in a while."

"It's true."

"You look… well, most of the time you look handsome. The beard needs to go as soon as we get out of here."

"You have a thing against beards? But you dated Frankie and he…" he trails off, realization hitting him. "I don't like it either. No more beards."

"Thank you," she kisses him again.

**A/N: Three chapters to go. I don't know it I'll be able to update tomorrow because we're going to see Lion King and then I think we have to go to my grandma's because some relatives are there. You know what, I don't know that they are relatives because I don't remember them on the family tree I made. Maybe grandma forgot them. Anyway... I am not looking forward to next week. Band all day, everyday. I don't want to stand in the sun for four hours learning the football show. Why don't they do outside stuff in the morning when it's not quite as hot and sections inside in the afternoon? That'd make more sense. So I'm a right guide this year. That's not the important one that leads the squad but I'm next most important. Our leader said she wouldn't be here today so I would get to be in charge, but then she was. Apparently whatever she had this morning didn't take as long as she thought it would. And we haven't played much of contest show so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to practice when I don't know what it sounds like really. They were selling CDs but I didn't have money today; plus you can't here the flute part on those things anyway. At least for football show we have almost the same part as like the trumpets and saxes so we can tell kind of what it sounds like. So... I'll either update tomorrow or Sunday. Keep reviewing; we're almost at one hundred.**


	18. Monday, 1 AM

**Chapter 18: Monday, 1 AM**

"Both of us are taking at least the next three days off from work with pay," Mac informs her.

"I'll gladly stay away from work, but how will I know you aren't here?"

"You can stay at my place, especially if the power doesn't come back on."

"Don't you think you're moving a little fast?" Stella asks, trying to hold back her smile.

"I'm not trying to do anything to you."

"Ξέρω. Ότι γιατί σας αγαπώ._"_

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

"What did you say?" he presses.

"It was a compliment."

"I better not find out you said something else."

"Μην ανησυχήστε," she kisses the corner of his mouth. "You won't."

He guides her back to the blankets, "We still have a few more hours; let's get some rest."

"There's a possibility we might not be found tomorrow, or today rather; if Gerard comes in and the power's still off, he'll call and tell everyone else not to come in. He might not see the papers outside or anything since his office is on the other side."

"The lab's not locked; maybe he'll realize something is up and look around a little." Mac sits and waits for her to do so before putting the blankets on them. "We shouldn't assume the worst will happen."

She leans against him and closes her eyes. "On the bright side, it can't get much colder than this."

"Yes, but how long do you think we can go in these temperatures before… we get sick?"

She sneezes, "Aren't you the one who said to think positive?"

In the silence, both think about the end, despite avoiding the topic of death aloud now. Suddenly the lights go out, leaving them in pitch black.

"Looks like the generator died."

"Wait, when we had that big blackout a few years ago, by default everything had to be turned back on when the power came back. Maybe…"

He stands and carefully makes his way to the door. "Nope, we're still stuck."

"That's because the security system is off. Try the lights." He flips the switch a few times. "Must have to use the power box to turn it back on."

"Let's try a computer."

"No, that wouldn't work either until the electricity is manually turned back on. Heater would also have to be turned on."

"Looks like we still have to wait," he settles back down beside her.

Stella pulls out her phone. "My battery's dead. Still can't call anyone for help."

"Mine too," he says, taking his out.

Taking his hand, she asks, "Ever hear Danny talk about his dream in the AV lab with Lindsay in it?"

"Do I want to know?"

"Anyway, he was talking about how the AV lab is the perfect place for… well, taking your girlfriend."

"How did you hear this story?"

"He was telling it to Flack while I was eating lunch in the break room."

"So do you want to make that true?"

"God, no. It was just kind of ironic."

"I'm not seeing it," Mac wraps an arm around her.

"Just forget it. Can we lay down? My butt is getting tired of sitting."

Mac lays on his side, her doing the same, back pressed against his chest. "Better?"

"Yeah. I can't wait to get home."

"I thought you were coming home with me."

Stella turns her neck to look at him, "Okay, I can't wait to get out of here."

He leans forward and kisses her. "Good night."

"Love you." Exhausted, she falls asleep safely in his arms.

**A/N: Thanks to everybody who has reviewed. Wow, I've never had over a hundred reviews. I have one that has like eighty but the others are all twenty/thirtyish. And thirty people who have the story alerted. Woah. So it took me forever to get the Greek translated for this. The one site I normally use updated their thing, but that doesn't have Greek. If you do it the old way, it says that it can't be translated right now. I think I used two different sites. Anyway, just so you know, I don't really care for the next two chapters of the story. The only part I like is the very, very ending section of the last chapter when they finally get out. Whoops, I shouldn't have told you that. So I saw Lion King yesterday; it was really good. Then I did some typing this morning. I have three more stories done for you guys; they just need editted. Then I have another one written, and I've started another for a friend's birthday present, although she probably won't get it on time. I'll probably end up posting it here. Then I'm torn between which story to right next: I have one where Stella gets stalked, and one where she is sick and Mac takes care of her, and one where they are taken hostage (it seems like there's a lot of those stories lately), and... one that has to do with him going to London with Peyton. I have to get the last one up before the new season though. Anyway... the next three days are going to be terrible with band. All day long, except the hour break we have for lunch. Well, tomorrow's not quite that long, but... the next two or three days are seriously from nine to four. I'll try to find time to update tomorrow. And then it'll be over Tuesday. Please keep telling me what you think.**


	19. Monday, 4 AM

**Chapter 19: Monday, 4 AM**

"What in the world…?"

Movement in the hallway causes Mac to stir. He quickly yet silently gets up and walks to the door. Knocking on the door, he says, "Let us out of here."

"Who's in there?" Gerard asks, seeming a bit frightened.

"Mac. And Stella."

"Why are you two at work so early?"

"We're not. We've been stuck in here since Friday night when the power went out."

"A few more hours won't hurt you."

"What?"

"You heard me. You, Taylor, ruined our plan when you came back with a threat or your own that stopped the trial."

"That has nothing to do with the situation now," he argues.

"No, it has everything to do with it. You see, I could be a nice guy and let you out. Or I could let you two stay in there for someone else to find."

"You can't do that. If you do, I'll personally make sure you're fired."

"Sorry, Taylor. I had my mind made up a long time ago," Gerard starts to walk away.

"Wait, you have a reason for leaving me in here, and I'm okay with that. But why won't you let Stella out?"

At the sound of her name, Stella wakes up. "What are you doing?"

"I was wondering why she hasn't spoken up yet; she normally has very much to say."

"Let her out," Mac demands.

"No can do."

"Why?"

"For one, she can't follow orders," Gerard starts to list his reasons. "She works under you. She never shuts up. She's probably slept with you."

"Mac and I are best friends; we've never slept together. As unprofessional as you think I am, no, I haven't been seducing Mac to get whatever I want," she objects.

"Well, I'm sorry but I can't let you out." Without another chance for argument, Gerard walks away.

"I hate him," Mac leans against the door, facing her. "We still have a few hours before anyone else will come to work. It won't be so bad now that we have heat and light."

"Hey, did you think of trying the door handle?"

He tries it, but nothing happens. "No one's scanned into the room yet so it thinks the room is empty. God, I hate technology."

"The security system isn't powered by the generator but I'm sure the cameras are. If he were smart, Gerard would look through tapes from the last few days and see if our 'just friends' thing is true. Millions of rumors can be spread about us if the right scenes are found as proof."

"Would more people believe him or us? No one in the lab really cares for him."

"But we aren't really 'just friends' anymore; some of those rumors could be true," she reasons.

"You two are so smart, yet I've outsmarted you. Thanks for the ideas," Gerard says from outside the door.

"Mac, how come the idiots seem to have control of everything? Just think how much better the world would be if a few intelligent people were the ones making the decisions."

"We really should consider running for president and vice president next election."

"Only if I can be president." Stella kisses him, then whispers, "Since we're stuck here while he's watching security videos, let's give him something to look at."

**A/N: I just got some random call on my cell phone from somebody. They had an abnormally long phone number, like fourteen digits, and hung up when I answered. I only answered cause I thought it might be grandma/grandpa or something. My brothers are down there this week. And the younger one somehow injured his ankle. They can't tell if it's broken yet because it's too swollen. So he's on crutches for now apparently. Yeah... I didn't do anything but band today. First we were all together and we played and then practiced marking time while playing for the parade. I'm doing better than last year all ready. I think I could only do the fight song last year while marching, of course we don't move when we play the fight song. Then after lunch we had sectionals. And we have to leave soon to go pick up uniforms. It's a pain because you have to try all the thing on. We need two pairs of pants, a jacket, a hat, some funny thing that covers our shirt, a bag to carry it in, and a raincoat. It takes hours. I should update again tomorrow unless I don't get reviews. **


	20. Monday, 7 AM

**Chapter 20: Monday, 7 AM**

About an hour before, Gerard had started releasing chloroform into the AV lab to knock them out until he has decided what to do with them. Still locked in their prison cell, Mac and Stella now lay unconscious on the floor.

**Freezing Together**

"Hey, Gerard, happen to see Mac or Stella around here yet?" Danny asks, passing him by the door of the AV lab.

"No, they won't be in today. Mac's not feeling well, and Stella had a family issue."

"Okay," Danny watches him walk off down the hallway, knowing something isn't right since Stella doesn't have family. Plus, Mac hadn't taken a day off in who knows how long. "Do you smell anything?"

"No."

"Smells like it's coming from the AV lab," he reaches out to scan his print and open the door.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Gerard tries to shrug it off.

"Chloroform; that can't be an accident," Danny covers his nose and enters. "Help me; Mac and Stella are in here." He runs to their bodies, trying to wake them but they had been exposed to the fumes for too long. Grabbing Mac's body and beginning to drag him out, he sees Gerard doing the same with Stella, and he holds back a comment about him being weak for not carrying her out.

"We, uh, need to keep everyone out of the AV lab."

"Everyone will get the day off while the room is aired out; we can't take that risk," Danny checks for a pulse in their necks. "The fire department needs to get here right away."

"All of us need to get out of here; we'll call on the way down."

After getting Mac and Stella into the elevator, the four go down to the lobby. Danny makes the call to 911.

Hawkes happens to be waiting to go up, "What happened to them?"

"Drugged with chloroform. Don't know how long they've been exposed to it." The three of them get the other two out.

"Gerard, stay here and keep everyone out of the lab. Danny, get the paramedics. I'll see what I can do for them now."

"Already done."

Sheldon looks over their bodies, "Both of them are very cold and show signs of frost bite."

"Could it be possible that they were trapped in the lab when the power went out?"

Now, being exposed to clean air, Mac starts to wake. "Where am I?"

"The lobby. You and Stella were drugged with chloroform. Mac, what did you do this weekend?"

"I was stuck in the AV lab with… where's Stella?" he sits up.

"Right here. She's still unconscious."

Mac takes her hand, and as if by magic, she awakens. "How much longer until someone finds us?" She puts her free hand on her head. "Oh, I guess we're out."

"After the paramedics look at you, you can leave. I'll come by later with medicine for the frost bite. For now, I want both of you to go home, eat a big meal, drink some water, shower, and get some rest. And stay warm. Got it?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"We'll be at my place after getting her some clothes and picking up food. If you can, you might want to get the keys off my desk since we could be asleep."

"Oh, and arrest Gerard for us, will you?"

Nobody questions what was said as they leave.

**Freezing Together**

That evening, Mac wakes up to find Stella sprawled out on top of him. Until she wakes up, he is trapped. Turning his head to check the clock, he realizes they've been sleeping for over ten hours. He slides out from under her, deciding it doesn't matter if she wakes up.

Stella rolls over to the other side of the bed, muttering, "Too early to get up."

"It's ten o'clock, Stel. In the evening."

"I'm not getting up without coffee."

"Lazy," he pokes her side.

"Whatcha making me for breakfast?"

"Don't you mean midnight snack?"

"As long as I get food, it doesn't matter what it's called." The lights flicker before going out. "Not again," Stella complains.

"At least we're not stuck in the lab this time."

"But there's still no heat."

"I'll keep you warm," Mac lays back down beside her and wraps his arms around her. "Back to sleep it is."

**A/N: The suspense is finally over. I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Well, I can tell you guys did from all the reviews. Keep it coming with final thoughts. The next story is only like one chapter; it's called Face Down, after the song used. Then the other one is called When Nobody Died and uses the Nickleback song "If Everyone Cared"; I love that song. That stories kind of sad too; it involves a school shooting and has a character death, but not Mac or Stella or any of the team; it's a made up character. And the last one I have typed is called My Best Friend, again after the song. Hope you will read those as well. So... I've been at band all day for the past two days. Yesterday we learned pregame. I'm actually a very important person because I'm right next to the fifty yard line as we walk on, so people have to guide off me and this weird trombone guy. And today we learned the football show. Again I'm important because when we 'collapse' the boxes we make, I'm one of the end people when we have to make our horizontal line vertical. This show, that marching part, is shorter than last year's. And I can march and play some. Last year I think the most marching and playing I could do was the fight song, which is in place. Anyway... I still have summer reading to do. A hundred and fifty pages of My Antonia left, which is really boring, and To Kill a Mockingbird. And only two weeks until school starts. I don't want to go to school. Well I guess this is it for now. Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed the story. **


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